Double ratchet wrench



Patented June 30, 1942 UNITED STliTfliS :PATENT QFFICE 2,288,21? boum-'ERA'ronr Wannen Edmund CQTrautman, Seattle, Wash. Ape'ucatin Aug-ust 19,1940, semi No; 353,287

z claims. (o1. sig-57) My invention fastest@ new and useful imprvefnents'in tvrenenes..

An nptatbjct-ofiy invencin is to pfovide a wrench that lilas provisionfor rapidly rotating a Vspindle on whicha socket is adapted to bedetacliably mounted fv vhereby relatively loose nuts, screws, or boltsmay be tightened.

y Another object of "Inv invention is to provide a wrench that includesmeans for tightening a nut after the same has been vthreaded onto thebolt, which wrench requires no adjustment to render the tighteningYmeans operative after the st means has been used to initially threadthe 'nut or bolt'into the tightening position.

Still another object'of my invention is to pro'- vide a wrench of theabovegmntioned character that operates withequal efficacy forunthreading the nut or bolt `vvhich'ur'ithreading' operation requires noadjiisting or'intchangin'g of the parts of the wrench.v l Y VOtherobjects and advantages'- of my invention, will be apparent during the'course of the following description.

1n the drawing, renting part of this jspecii cation, and wherein like'numerals are vernployed to designate like partstlirougliout the Same,

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a wrench embodying myinvention taken on the bodiment of my invention, the numeral Idesignates a body for receiving the operating parts of the v"wrench,which lodS7 comprises an elongated handle portion II provided at one endwith an enlarged integral head portion I2. In side elevation, the sidewalls I2 and I3 of the head diverge outwardly from the handle, whichoutwardly diverging sides are connected by an integral arcuate end wallI3. In plan, the substantially knob-like head thus formed is providedwith flat rear and front surfaces I4 and I5, which face I5 tapersoutwardly from the body, as at I6, to provide an essentially thick frontwall I1. The front wall I5, side walls I2' and I3' and end wall I3 ofthe body are preferably formed integrally while the rear wall I4 is inthe nature of a panel xedly secured within the side fro and end wallsand ush with the edges thereof. 55

by the 'partition opens through the distal end of the handle land theother end thereof registers tangentially with an essentially circularopening '2| dened by the end Wall I3 and the last-mentioned end of thepartition 23.

A spindle 22 extendsthrough the head at substantially the radius at thecurved end I3 and the vessentially thick front wall Il of the head isformedwith a recess 24 which centrally receives the spindle. rlheopening 2i accommodates a 'sprocket gear 25v which is loosely mountedfor independent rotation about the spindle. rhe end of the partition'confronting the sprocket is provided l'with a medial arcuate recess 26which opens into the opening 2l and embraces the teeth of the sprocketgear.

The portion of the spindleextending through the sprocket is 'providedwith a plurality of circunferentially spaced ratchet teeth 2l which aremilled or otherwise cut into the periphery of the spindle. The 'sprocketis formed with a recess 2B which extends from and opens into the centralspindle receiving bore and the spring Ypressed dog 23 is pivotallymounted therein to "engage With the ratchet teeth 2l.

Engagement of the dog with the ratchet teeth holds the 'sprocket xedlyconnected to the spindle when the handle is rotated about the spindle inthe direction of the arrow in Figure 4. Conversely, if the handle isrotated about the spindle in a direction opposed to the directionindicated by the arrow, the dog 29 Will ratchet over the teeth 21 sothat the spindle will not be rotated.

The chain 30 extends around the sprocket and has its ends receivedwithin the passages I8 and I9. The end 3| thereof disposed within theupper passage I8 is pivotally connected to one end of a rod 32, theother end of the rod being connected to the closed end 33 of a sleeve34. The sleeve slidably receives the handle of the body and, when thesleeve is reciprocated relative to the body handle, the chain is causedto travel back and forth in the passages.

Thus, when the handle is in the full line position illustrated in Figurel, the free end 35 of the chain will extend substantially all the wayinto the lower passage I9 and the guide 36 pivotally secured theretowill be disposed in abutting relation with the end 31 of the passage.If, however, the sleeve is moved to the dotted line position of Figure1, the rod 32 will be substantially entirely retracted from the passageI8 and the end 3l of the chain will be moved to substantially the outerend of the passage. 'I'he lower end thereof will thus be caused to movesubstantially forwardly within the lower passage and by reason of theinterengagement of the chain and sprocket, the sprocket will be causedto rotate. When the sleeve is being pulled outwardly from the handle torotate the sprocket, the dog 29 will engage one of the ratchet teeth 21whereby rotation of the sprocket will eiect the rotation of the spindle.When the sleeve is pushed onto the handle, the reversely moving chainwill also effect rotation of the sprocket; however, the return rotationwill not be transmitted to the spindle for the reason that the dog willmove easily over the ratchet teeth 21.

The recess 24 receives the gear 38 which is fast on the spindle. The dog39 is pivoted to the body by the bolt 44 in a manner whereby the freeend thereof will be normally held in engagement with the teeth of thegear by the coil spring 40. The dog inclines downwardly from its pivotto engage the teeth of the gear in a manner whereby it will ratchetfreely over the teeth when the handle is rotated about the spindle in adirection opposed to the direction of the arrow in Figure 4. If,however, the handle is rotated in the direction of the arrow, the dogwill engage the teeth of the gear to connect the spindle to the body andto effect direct rotation therebetween. The ends 4| and 42 of thespindle Ythe bolt or screw which is to be loosely threaded on a nut orinto an object and the sleeve 34 is rapidly reciprocated. At eachoutstroke of the sleeve the chain will effect rotation of the sprocketand the dog 29 will connect the sprocket with the spindle whereby thesocket or screw driver attachment will be rapidly rotated. The rotationof the spindle during the outstroke of the sleeve will cause the dog 39to ratchet' lfreely over the teeth of the gear 38. During the instrokeof the sleeve the sprocket gear will again be rotated, however, the dog29 will freely move over the ratchet teeth 21 whereby rotation of thesocket or screw driver attachment at theI end of the spindle will not beeifected.

Reciprocation of the sleeve will thus permit the nut or screw to berapidly rotated onto the bolt or into the mentioned object. As soon asthe nut or screw begins to bind and reciprocaitself may be rotated aboutthe spindle. The extending handle and sleeve offer substantial leverageand movement of the wrench in a direction to further tighten the boltwill cause the dog 39 to engage between adjacent teeth of the gear 38.Thus, further rotation of the body above the spindle will connect thebody to the spindle and effect rotation of the socket.

It is not necessary that any parts be changed or adjusted when thewrench is converted from a rapid operating to a slow operating wrench.For rapid operation the body is held stationary and the sleeve isreciprocated, and for slow heavy duty the body and sleeve together aremoved angularly about the spindle. 'Ihis simplicity of construction andoperation is highly desirable in that there are comparatively fewworking parts to become broken or damaged. The wrench may beinexpensively manufactured and it is characterized by substantialpractical utility when used under conditions where speed anddependability are of paramount importance.

It is to b e understood, that the form of my invention, herewith shownand described, is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, andthat various changes in the size, shape and arrangement of parts may beresorted to Without departing from the spirit of my invention, or scopeof the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a wrench, a body having guideways, a spindle mounted for rotationwithin the body at one end of the guideways, a sprocket loosely mountedon the spindle, a ratchet coupling the sprocket to the spindle, a chainconnecting with the sprocket and having its ends received within thesaid guideways, reciprocative means carried by the body and connectingwith one end of the chain, a gear fixed to the shaft, and a pawlcoupling the gear to the body, both said ratchet and said pawloverriding their respective gears when the spindle is rotated in onedirection.

2. In a wrench, an elongated body, a spindle formed with a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced ratchet teeth for a portion of its lengthmounted for rotation at one end of said body, a reeiprocative sleevemounted at the other end of the said body, a gear loosely mounted on thespindle to cover the ratchet teeth, said gear having an inner recessopening against the ratchet teeth, a chain extending over the loose gearand connecting at one end with the said sleeve, a ratchet mounted withinthe gear recess for coupling the said gear and spindle, when the gear isrotated in one direction, a second gear xedly mounted on the spindle,and a pawl coupling the last gear and body.

EDMUND C. TRAUTMAN.

